Three unlikely women meet at train station, Stefania, Ailsa and Fran. They only currently have one thing in common, they have signed the Official Secrets Act and they are heading for the same place Bletchley Park.
They don’t know what their work will entail.
Stefania spent her formative years in Rome, she witnessed Mussolini at embassy parties and lost her heart to an Italian man, Matteo. Her skill in languages is going to be useful at Bletchley.
Ailsa, comes from a small Scottish Island, where she was destined to stay forever. But her skills with a radio and tuning into a variety of frequencies is going to be useful at Bletchley.
Fran, from a family of medicine has taken a completely different route much to the annoyance of parents. Her love of words and the logistics of referencing is going to be useful at Bletchley.
The three of them together, forge a friendship, there differing backgrounds and skills allow them to have an impact on the work at the Park. The war allows them to travel, to see something of the war from a different perspective. For all that time, they continue to correspond with each other. But are they about to put all they hold dear into jeopardy?
This novel had me hooked, pretty much from the beginning. The role of Bletchley Park has fascinated me always, the secrets it held for so long and the role that both men and women played is described in this book in so much detail. It was a book where I did not know how it was going play out, I couldn’t see the obvious route to the plot and it held me from beginning to end.
Historical fiction at it’s best when you learn so much about the past from an author that has thoroughly researched and used real stories to bring a narrative to life.
Thank you to the publisher via netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The Bletchley Girls is out now.
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